ear trumpet

American  

noun

1. a trumpet-shaped device held to the ear for collecting and intensifying sounds and once commonly used as an aid to hearing.

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ear trumpet British  

noun

1. a trumpet-shaped instrument that amplifies sounds and is held to the ear: an old form of hearing aid

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Etymology

Origin of ear trumpet

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

Among the other treasures jostling for space inside her living room were a taxidermied two-headed chick, a tchotchke of conjoined twins, an ear trumpet from the eighteen-hundreds, and a ventriloquist’s dummy.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 24, 2018

GPs tend to be confident that, within a few months, the middle ear clears, and hearing returns; and, where Beethoven had a primitive ear trumpet, audiologists can now offer sophisticated hearing aids.

From The Guardian • Sep. 7, 2010

"He wants to extend his contract with us and stay with us, so the noise coming out of Russia is very difficult to explain," he said, adjusting his gigantic mahogany ear trumpet.

From The Guardian • Apr. 30, 2010

After Clinton's annual physical at Bethesda Naval Hospital, White House spokesman Mike McCurry announced the presidential ear trumpet.

From Time Magazine Archive

I knew he couldn’t hear Miss Love’s music, not without his ear trumpet.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns